today, vice presidential candidate paul ryan headlines rallies for the gop ticket in richmond and with paul showing virginia the closest of battleground, ryan appealed directly for help in turning out the vote. >> we talked to that friend, neighbor, that liked hope in 2008, knows how it's an empty promise. we will wake up wednesday, november 7th, and we will know we met the moment as a country. >> repter: this is the last scheduled stop, but vice president joe biden comes to sterling on monday and mitt romney spends sunday and monday in the commonwealth with a rally in fairfax on monday. news 4 today. >>> long lines in d.c. as voters lined up for their last chance to cast an early ballot. last day for in-person absentee ballot. administrators not worried about long lines on election day as many polling places will be open. we'll have complete coverage up to tuesday and all of the results. stay up to date on our website, nbcwashington.com. >>> now to sandy's impact. this morning, signs of progress in areas hardest hit by the storm. help starting to arrive and lights back on in manhattan